Sheet-delivery apparatus for printing-presses



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SHEET DELIVERY APPARATUS FOR PRINTING PRESSBS. No. 257,577

Patented May 9, 1882.

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Patented May 9, 1882.

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- UNITED STATES PATENT O EIcE.

JOHN T. HAWKINS, OF TAUNTON, MASSAGHUSETT$.

SHEET-DELIVERY APPARATUS FOR PRINTING-PRESSES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 257,577, dated May 9,1882.

Application filed November 26,1880. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOHN T. HAWKINS, ofTaunton, in the county of Bristol and State of Massachusetts, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Sheet-Delivery Apparatus forPrinting-Presses, which improvement is fully set forth and illustratedin the following specification and accompanying drawings.

The invention consists in the employment of frictional-surfacedsheet-driving wheels driven at the same peripheral velocity as that ofthe impression-cylinder, and so placed as to touch or act upon theunprinted margins of the sheets of paper only, the said frictionalsurfaced wheels being combined with both stationary and movablesheet-guides, in part surroundin g and touching, or nearly touching, thefrictional peripheries of said wheels.

The invention also consists in the employment of an air-pump orequivalent means of forcing a current or jets of air, eitherhorizontally or downwardly, upon the sheets of paper as the same arebeing delivered from between the frictional-surfaced sheet-drivingwheels and their partially-surrounding guides.

This invention and its necessary adjuncts are described in detail asfollows:

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 illustrates in side elevation theparts constitutin g this invention as applied to a cylinderpress,together with such other parts of the press as are essential to theillustration of the invention. Figs. 2 and 3 illustratein end elevationand plan, respectively, the press shown in Fig. 1; and Figs. 4, 5, and 6illustrate details of the invention to be hereinafter described.

In the said figures, the letters A A indicate parts of the side framesof a cylinder-press, the letter B the impression-cylinder, and O thefeed-board.

0 indicates the fly-board, and D the shaft, carrying thecylinder-grippers 3 in the usual manner.

D and d indicate respectively the cam and spring with its rod, foroperating the grippers y when engaging their opening-stud d and theirclosing-stud (1 E indicates a shaft extending across the cylinder,carrying a series of sheet-lifter fingers,

spring, W, on the inside of theflange of the cylinder-head. The pin gengages the stationary cam F, secured to the frame of the machine, inpassing up whose inclined face said pin lifts the sheet-lifter fingers fsimultane ously with the opening of the cylinder-grippers y.

A indicates a shaft journaled in the frames of the press, and carryinginside the frames two or more narrow sheet-driving wheels, a, having anelastic frictional surface of rubber or other suitable material, 0.,upon their peripheries, preferably in the form shown in Fig. 4, in whichsegments of sheet-rubber a are held to the conical or beveled faces ofthe wheels a by means of the clamps c and screws a The rubber is thuspresented edgewise t0 the sheet. Any deflection or stretching that maybe exerted upon said rubber segments will tend outwardly, therebykeeping the sheet tightly stretched in a direction across the press, asbut two of the wheels a are generally used, and then so placed as tocome in contact with the outer margins of the paper only.

It indicates a rod extending across the press and secured in .the framesA A, upon which are secured the sheet-guides R by means of setscrews, sothat said guides may be set at any desired point in the width of thepress to suit the size of sheet to be printed, the said guides" forming011 their respective inside curves a circular arc corresponding to theperipheries of the sheet-driving wheels cm. The number of the guides Rto be used depends upon the width of press or sheet to be printed.

S indicates a shaft extending across the machine and journaled in theframes A. The said shaft carries between said frames, secured to it byset-screws or other suitable means;

part of the periphery respectively of each of the sheet-driving wheelsa. The said movable guides, as well as the stationary guides 1t,arepolished on their interior curved surfaces, so that the back of thesheet will slide freely upon them, while the pressure or friction of theelastic wheels upon the margins of the last.- printed side conveys eachsheet to its point of dischargetherefrom. Thesheet-drivingwheels a areplaced in line with the corresponding sheet-guides, R and S, the saidwheels being capable of adjustment across the machine, as are also thesaid guides. On a continuation of the shaft A outside of the frame ofthe machine is secured a pulley, c, and upon the impression-cylindersaxis a corresponding pulley, c, is secured, said pulleys being soproportioned as to give to the frictional-surfaced sheet-drivin g wheelsto and the impression-surface of the cylinder B the same peripheralvelocity. The shaft A is-so placed with reference to the axis of thecylinder B that the frictional peripheries a of the wheels (1 will presslightly upon the impression-surface of the cylinder B, a crossed belt orequivalent gearing giving these respective surfaces motion in the samedirection and at the same velocity.

To the shaft S, outside of one of the frames A, is secured an arm, 8.Connected to said arm in the usual manner is a connecting-rod, 9, whoseopposite end is forked, which end, acting as a guide, encompasses theaxis of the cylinder B. The said rod is provided with a roller, h, whichengages with and is operated by a cam, 'i, adjustably secured to theaxis of the cylinder B. By means of the said cam and rod the movablesheet-guides S are operated.

1? indicates a single-acting air-pump without valves, which is securedto one of the frames A, the bottom chamber of which pump communicateswith a pipe, 19, extending across the press and having its end closed.The pipe 1) is perforated with small holes 12 pointing eitherhorizontally or downwardly upon the fly-board G. A connecting-rod, 12,connects the plunger 1? of the pump P with a bellcrank lever, L, theshort arm of which lever carries a roller, h, which engages a cam,'i,adjustably secured to the axis of the cylinder B. By means of the saidcam and crank-lever the air-pump plunger 1 is given its forward motion.

S indicates a spring whose lower end is attached to any suitable pointof the frame of the press and its upper end to the short arm of thelever L, through which arm said spring effects the return of the plungerP. A series of sheet-stops, jj, are attached to the fly-board C. Saidstops and board together are adj ustable lengthwise of the press, forthe purpose of exactly locating the advancing edge of the sheet whenreleased by the movable sheetguides S.

The complete operation of this machine, which is extremely simple, is asfollows: The sheet to be printed, being taken from the feedboard in theusual manner by the cylindergripgers y, which clamp the leading edge ofthe sheet over the points of the lifter-fingers f is carried around tothe type-bed and through the process of receiving the impression. Uponarriving at the point a; of the stationary sheet-guides R the grippers 3release the sheet by the engagement of the grippertumbler cam D with theopening-stud d, the sheet at this point being kept from dropping backupon the form bybeing held between the cylinder B and the periphery a ofthe sheetdriving wheels a, the advancing edge of the sheet having passedtheir point of contact before the grippers open. Simultaneously with theopening of the grippers 3 the lever f is operated by the cam F, whichcauses the sheetlift up from the cylinder-surface the advancing edge ofthe sheet, which edge is thus passed between the sheet-drivin g wheelsat and the stationary sheet-guides It, and the sheetthereby continued inone round of motion until its advancing edge reaches the stops jj, atwhich time, by the proper adjustment of the cams t and if, jets of airare projected by the air-pump P through the perforationsin pipe 1;,themovable sheet-guides S at this time being thrown into the position shownin dotted lines in Fig. 1, thus releasing the sheet, which is thenspread out upon the fly-board O, or upon the pile of paper upon it, bythe obvious action of the air-jets issuing at this time from theperforated pipe 19.

By the method of delivery above described each sheet is delivered withits last-printed side upward without the use of tapes or cords,withoutthe necessity of having a leading margin of sheet so wide as to overhangthe gripperedge of the impression-cylinder, and Without bringing anypart of the printed surfaceof a sheet in contact with any part of thedelivery mechanism, while at the same time the greatest facility isafforded for access from the back of the press to the form by simplyslipping to one side (by slackening their set-screws) the intermediatemovable sheet-guides, S, where such intermediate guides are used. It isquite obvious, also, that by this method of delivery the total length ofspace occupied by this press is less than that occupied by presseshaving a fly delivery to the extent of the total length occupied by thelongest sheet capable of being delivered by the press.

I do not limit myself to the means herein shown and described forimparting the requisite movements to the sheet-lifter fingers f the frictional sheet-driving wheels a, the sheet-guides R and S, and theair-pump P, as the means for imparting said movements may be varied tosuit the particular form and proportions of press to which such partsmay be attached, without departing from the principles of thisinvention, and any of the well-known devices for effecting like motionsmay be employed as may be most convenient to the end sought.

I do not herein claim as new, per 80, any of the mechanism shown anddescribed for effect ing the above-mentioned movements; but,

As of my invention, I claim- 1. In a cylinder printing-press or othermachine requiring a similar disposition or delivery of 'sheets of papertherefrom, the combination of sheet-driving wheels, stationarysheetguides, and movable sheet-guides, arranged and operatingsubstantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. In a cylinder printing-press or other machine requiring a similardisposition or delivery of sheets of paper therefrom, sheet-drivingwheels and stationary and movable sheet; guides, in combination withmeans, substantially as described, to force a current or jets of airover or upon the sheets as delivered, substantially as and for thepurposes set forth.

3. In a cylinder printing-press or'other machine requiring a similardisposition or delivitil movable sheet-guides,afl y-board providedwithsheet-stops, and means, substantially as described, to force a currentof air over or upon the sheets in course of delivery, all arranged 3 5and operating substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

JOHN T. HAWKINS.

'Witnesses:

HORA'IIO 0. KING, 1?. R. VOORHEES.

